Scourged
“Flagellation of Christ” by Peter Paul Rubens, Church of St. Paul, Antwerp, Author GFDL (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
Ancient Romans would scourge a condemned criminal before putting him to death. The Roman scourge was a short whip with several thongs to which small pieces of metal were knotted. Sometimes the scourge had a hook at its end, for added impact.
Scourging quickly and painfully removed the skin, producing substantial blood. Shredded flesh and exposed muscles were intended not only as a punishment for the criminal, but a warning to others.
Jewish law permitted only forty stripes less one (Deut. 25: 3). Scourging by the Romans had no legal limit to the number of blows. With the objective crucifixion, however, the Centurion would direct the scourging stopped short of death.
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon Him; and by His stripes we are healed…” (Is. 53: 5-6).
Lord Jesus, You took our sins upon You. Your flesh was torn that we might be healed. How You could have loved us so much, we cannot fathom.
Help us to persevere in the face of cruelty and injustice. Help us to be the reflection of Your love to the world.
Amen
Originally posted 3/27/13
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse https://avoicereclaimed.com
A Lawyer's Prayers 
Amen to your prayer Anna. I remember the scene from The passion of the Christ…
His flesh was torn that we might be healed!
We may find it shocking to recall how violent Christ’s suffering was. Yet He endured it for our sake. And the physical pain could not compare with the spiritual pain of Christ’s separation from the Father, as He assumed the weight of our sins. Such love is truly beyond our comprehension.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Thank you for the reblog, Vincent.
You’re very welcome Anna 😁
Amen,Anna, and good morning to you.
Sorry to be late in responding, Wally. 🙂
I understand, Anna!
Amen Anna.. It is heartbreaking to know the pain and suffering Jesus endured..
GRACE.. God’d riches at Christ’s expense.. 🙂
Yes, Mary. It should break our stone hearts.
Thanks, Anna. Your blog prompted me to read and meditate on all of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Truly, by His stripes we are healed.
“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isa 53:10, KJ2000)
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1John 3:1-2, ESV2011)
Truly through the miracle of salvation He is prolonging His days in us.
Amen, Michael.
He was wounded, bruised, chastised, scorched and crucified. He bore all the pain for us. We can never understand why he did all that for us. Certainly, there is no greater love than the love he demonstrated. The last paragraph of your post scares me but I join you in saying “Amen”, knowing that we can do nothing within our own power.
Christ is perfect; we are imperfect. We are finite; He is infinite. We complain about suffering, would prefer anything to suffering. Yet in persevering despite suffering — loving despite it, reaching out to others despite it, remaining faithful despite it — we most clearly reflect Christ.